St. Lucia Offers ‘frictionless’ Virtual Citizenship Application Process
18.11.2020 12:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
The St. Lucia Citizenship-by-Investment Unit (CIU) has launched the Caribbean region’s first, and currently only, e-payment platform. It enables international investors and their families to apply for the island nation’s investment migration programme entirely online, offering greater efficiency and reducing the processing time from application to the granting of citizenship. The e-payment platform has the capacity to receive all payments associated with the application, including the processing and due diligence fees; administrative fees for real estate and bonds, and the investment made into the National Economic Fund.
CEO Nestor Alfred says delivering a secure, transparent, fast, efficient, and professional service to high-net-worth global investors lies at the heart of St. Lucia CIU’s latest innovation developed by its internal IT team. “During the Covid-19-imposed international lockdown, arranging for bank wire transfer could either add weeks to the timeframe or be simply impossible for our investors to manage. This homegrown, wholly-owned and managed e-payment and processing platform is seamlessly integrated into our new website and will save our clients’ precious time as well as capital as there are no fees required to manage the transfer.”
St. Lucia offers various options to investors looking to secure citizenship of the country, starting at USD 100,000. In May, St. Lucia was the first Caribbean country to announce a new investment option in response to the coronavirus pandemic. To qualify for citizenship via the Covid-19 Relief Bond option, which currently runs until 31 December 2020, an individual is required to make a minimum investment of USD 250,000 in a non–interest-bearing government bond that must be held for five years.
In addition, St. Lucia recently made several key amendments to its legislation to make its citizenship-by-investment program even more attractive to investors with families. The category of ‘qualifying dependant’ has been expanded and now includes the option to “add-on” qualifying dependants in all investment options for the granting of citizenship. Besides your spouse, you can now include children up to the age of 30 as well as parents over 55 if they are fully supported by you. An unmarried sister or brother who is under 18 can also be included in your application.
As Alfred points out, the Caribbean island nation is intent on creating additional value for its international investors over and above the sustainable return that is guaranteed by St. Lucia CIU’s commitment to the highest standards of good governance. “We offer significant return on investment at a competitive investment level, with visa-free access to 146 destinations worldwide, but it’s our dedication to ensuring rigorous due diligence and accountability at the highest level across comparable options that really underpins this strategic investment. The long-term growth and legacy options offered by St. Lucia to international investors include lifelong yield for themselves and their dependents as well as ongoing and exponential value opportunities through enhanced global mobility.”
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201118005103/en/
Contact information
Media Contact:
Tajma Brown
St. Lucia Citizenship-by-Investment Unit
media@cipsaintlucia.com
+1-758-458-6050
www.cipsaintlucia.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Nanochon Receives Regulatory Approval from Panamá’s Ministry of Health to Initiate First-in-Human Clinical Study of Chondrograft™17.8.2026 22:44:00 EEST | Press release
Nanochon, a medical device company developing Chondrograft™, a novel patented implant for the treatment of articular cartilage defects of the knee, today announced that it has received regulatory approval from Panamá’s Ministry of Health to initiate its First-in-Human (FIH) clinical study in Panamá. The study will evaluate the safety and performance of Chondrograft™ in patients with focal chondral defects of the knee and represents a major milestone in the company’s clinical and regulatory development strategy. The trial will be conducted at The Panama Clinic in Panamá City under the leadership of Drs. Juan Osorio and Emilio Tufiño, experienced sports medicine surgeons, with Dr. Osorio serving as Principal Investigator for the study. Dr. Osorio stated, “I am pleased to be the Principal Investigator for this important study, and we look forward to contributing the data that will support a larger clinical study and subsequent market entry.” Nanochon selected Panamá for its growing reputa
TOURISE and Oxford Economics Release New Global Report on Tourism Resilience in an Era of Permanent Disruption17.8.2026 17:33:00 EEST | Press release
TOURISE, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, today released a new report, “Resilience in a World that Doesn’t Reset: Redesigning Tourism for an Era of Permanent Disruption.” The analysis of 85 major crises over two decades shows a clear pattern: in a world defined by continuous shocks, destinations that act before disruption hits recover up to 1.5 times faster than those that wait. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260817880835/en/ “In a world that does not reset between crises, disruption is a constant feature of the global tourism landscape,” said His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of TOURISE. “The real test for destinations measures how they prepare for volatility, protect traveler confidence, and maintain continuity ahead of such events.” Using the current Middle East crisis as a lens, where Gulf hubs carry roughly 14 percent of global transit traffic, the r
The Expensify Visa® Commercial Card Brings New Proactive Spend Controls to 14 Countries17.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Expensify, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXFY), the easiest way to manage expenses, travel, and corporate cards, today expanded the reach of Expensify Card spend rules, the market-leading way for businesses to control corporate card spend before it happens. Available to businesses in 14 countries, spend rules let admins decide exactly how, where, and when each Expensify Card can be used, so only compliant transactions go through. Unlike traditional corporate cards that rely on after-the-fact expense review, the Expensify Card enforces policy at the point of purchase. Admins set the rules once, and the card handles the rest. With Expensify Card spend rules, admins can: Lock a card to a subscription. Give each recurring SaaS tool its own virtual card, so a vendor can only ever charge what it should. If the card owner changes teams or leaves, the subscription keeps running, with no swapping cards and no missed payments. Cover a one-time purchase. Issue a virtual card for a single transaction like event r
Riskified Analysis Finds Travel Fraudsters Are Adapting Faster Than Traditional Signals Can Keep Up, With May Flight Risk Up 32%17.8.2026 15:30:00 EEST | Press release
Riskified (NYSE: RSKD), a global leader in ecommerce fraud and risk intelligence, today released new findings from its Travel Industry Insights report, revealing how sophisticated fraud rings and AI-enabled fraudsters are evolving their tactics across airlines, hotels, and online travel platforms. Riskified’s analysis shows that fraudsters are increasingly adapting their behavior to resemble legitimate travelers, making traditional fraud indicators less reliable and creating new challenges for travel merchants. Riskified’s analysis of hundreds of millions of travel transactions across flights, hotels, and land transportation found that flight fraud risk increased through the first five months of 2026, with May 2026 marking the sharpest year-over-year increase at 32% compared to May 2025. The findings show that sophisticated fraud activity is not limited to predictable travel peaks, with organized fraud rings continuously adjusting their methods throughout the year. Riskified's travel n
PIF Delivers Strong Revenue and Profit Growth in 202517.8.2026 14:54:00 EEST | Press release
PIF today published its 2025 Annual Report demonstrating strong financial performance and continued progress against its long-term objectives. As a long-term investor with a unique mandate to drive the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia and deliver sustainable financial returns, PIF maintained a diversified portfolio in 2025, balancing returns with national impact and long-term resilience. Maintaining Financial Discipline In 2025, revenue rose 9% year on year to $120 billion, while net profit more than doubled to $17 billion, supported by stronger contributions from maturing portfolio companies. PIF retained over $900 billion in assets under management and achieved an annualized total shareholder return of 5.8% since 2017. Total shareholder return in 2025 was positively driven by increased dividends from portfolio companies and returns from financial investments. It was also impacted by downward movements in the valuations of some assets, as a result of wider market conditions, an
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom